Design Process
Tape It Out Before You Buy
The most expensive beginner mistake in interior design is not colour, it is scale. A sofa that's too big swallows a room, and a picture that's too small looks lost on a large wall. Both are easy to get wrong in a shop and hard to put right once delivered.
Before you buy, mark the footprint of the piece on the floor with masking tape, using the measurements from the product page. For a frame or a mirror, cut paper to size and stick it to the wall. Then live with it for a day. Walk around it, sit where you would sit and check all doors and drawers still open.
You will know within hours whether it fits. Getting the scale right is often the difference between a room of nice things and a room that feels designed.
